Uber CEO Targets Local Asia Rivals as H.K. Service Begins

“The growth we’re seeing in Asia is extraordinary,” Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick of Uber Technologies Inc. said in an interview in Hong Kong, where the company is officially starting its service today. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc., the popular
ride-sharing company that’s challenging traditional cab services
worldwide, expanded into Hong Kong as it takes on the slew of
similar applications sprouting in Asia.

Uber started its service in the city today, though it’s
been available there for weeks on a trial basis. Those ordering
an UberBlack in Hong Kong through their smartphone app will get
to ride on a Mercedes-Benz S-class. By comparison, the typical
vehicle in India is a Toyota Corolla.

Hong Kong joins the more than 100 cities that San
Francisco-based Uber has entered since it was founded in 2009.
Asian companies offering similar mobile services, including one
backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., have sprouted in the
region following Uber’s popularity in the U.S. and Europe.

“There are a couple of apps that say ‘Hey, we’re the Uber
for Malaysia, we’re the Uber for China or the Uber for X,’ but
Uber is actually the Uber for Asia,” Chief Executive Officer
Travis Kalanick said in an interview in Hong Kong today. “The
folks that use Uber as an inspiration will always be a few steps
behind.”

While Uber, valued at $17 billion based on its most recent
round of funding, is now available in most of Asia, Macau and
Hanoi are among the few major cities it has yet to expand into.

‘Steps Behind’

“The growth we’re seeing in Asia is extraordinary,” said
Kalanick, who also co-founded the company, declining to specify
growth figures. “You got something like 200 cities in China
alone with over 1 million people. So we got a long way to go.”

While Uber has faced protests by taxi drivers in cities
from Boston to Berlin, Kalanick said he hasn’t seen any such
backlash from cabbies in Asia.

In China, where Uber began services in Beijing this week,
the company is competing against the likes of Alibaba-backed
Hangzhou Kuaidi Technology Co. Ltd. Kuaidi has traditionally
been focusing on an app for local taxi-booking and it recently
introduced a service called “Kuaidi One” that offers high-end
car bookings in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou.

Among other Uber-like services, Beijing-based Yongche.com
is even planning to enter the U.S. market by targeting Chinese
travelers, while GrabTaxi has become Southeast Asia’s largest
taxi-booking mobile app and has attracted the likes of Temasek
Holdings Pte as investors.

“In Asia, there’s a lot of image conscious-type of
consumers that really want to be seen driven around in a
slightly nicer car,” said Mark Tanner, founder of China Skinny,
a Shanghai-based research and marketing company. “It’s pretty
clear why they are so focused on Asia.”

In terms of Uber’s valuations, Kalanick said he’ll do
“everything in my power so that it continues to go up.” In
response to a comment from Bill Maris, managing partner of the
Google Inc.’s venture capital arm that’s invested in Uber, who
said the ride-sharing company may someday reach a valuation
exceeding $200 billion, Kalanick said: